25 Jan – Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul
St. Paul (3-65) was a Jewish Talmudic student and a Pharisee. He was a tent-maker by trade. Saul the Jew hated and persecuted Christians as heretical, even assisting at the stoning of St. Stephen the Martyr. On his way to Damascus to arrest another group of them, he was knocked to the ground, struck blind by a heavenly light, and given the message that in persecuting Christians, he was persecuting Christ. The experience had a profound spiritual effect on him, causing his conversion to Christianity. He was baptised, changed his name to Paul to reflect his new persona, and began travelling and preaching. He died a martyr for his faith.
- Patron Saint Index
Acts 22 :3-16
Mk 16:15-18
“O praise the lord, all you nations, acclaim him all you peoples!”
I gym regularly at my club. Last year, a new instructor came on board. He was 26 years old and Malay. We bonded quite well. One Friday, he asked me to pray for him as he knew I was Catholic. It turned out that on the following Sunday, he was going to be baptised into the Methodist faith. I was stunned. This decision caused his Muslim family to disown him. He also recently married a Chinese lady, who was Christian. I left it at that and wished him all the best. He left my club a few months later.
In 2017, I met another convert at the bible adventure class in Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We became good friends. He told me that his family were one of the earliest members of a well-known mega church in Singapore. They were fervent believers in the founding pastor. They were so devout that on their wedding day, they decided to forgo their dinner celebrations and honeymoon in order to donate the money to help with the church fundraising. Over 20 years, they never bought a car nor took holidays, instead giving all their money to the church. They eventually quit in 2012 after being disillusioned with certain controversies.
The family stopped going to any church for the next two years. One day, while he was jogging past Church of the Nativity in Hougang, he felt a strong urge to go inside and sat near the blessed sacrament. Suddenly, he saw Jesus and Mother Mary looking at him. He felt their calling to come back to the faith. It took a while as his wife was skeptical.
The catalyst came when their daughter received her excellent PSLE results. She wanted to go to St Nicholas Girl’s School, but her mother was keen on Raffles Girls School. My friend then took out the bible to pray for guidance. His wife agreed. He opened it and read the bible passage (I cannot remember the verse). They then visited St Nicholas Girl’s School first as it was closer to where they lived. At the entrance of the building, was exactly the same bible verse. It was clear that God had spoken to them. Obviously, the daughter went to St Nicholas and the family became Catholics in 2015. My friend and his wife then joined the Chinese RCIA ministry (both being fluent speakers) and have been active ever since. They have been instrumental in bringing more converts into the Catholic faith. Amazing indeed!
Like St Paul in today’s gospel reading, converts refresh and grow our Christian community. Their faith is mostly due to a personal choice to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. For new Catholics, this journey is a long one, with 1 year of classes for Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). I am thankful for their faith and for their gifts. My Muslim friend now does youth outreach in his church. He also told me that the number of Muslims interested in Christianity is larger than what I would imagine!
Meeting new converts and listening to their faith journeys has inspired my own faith. I am now more enthusiastic and less reticent to engage in bible chats, especially with fellow Catholics. Recently, I even managed to convince a few of my secondary school friends to sign up for the Bible Adventure talks in 2024. That is a good start for this year!
(Today’s OXYGEN by Andrew Sia)
Prayer: Abba father, like St Paul, give me the faith to believe in you. So that you will transform my life.
Thanksgiving: Thanks be to you to bring new converts to the faith that they enrich the whole church.
OXYGEN 
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